


The Only Hope For Me Is You

by Ambereen



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: AU, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, I couldn't help myself, It's like a drug, M/M, One Shot, larry stylinson - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-27 18:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15030452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ambereen/pseuds/Ambereen
Summary: But there were too many clustered around the diner, too many for four to take out on their own. Too many for five.Not that it was going to stop Louis any time soon. They'd faced worse odds. Hell, before Louis had shaken off the pills and opened his eyes, he'd been on the receiving end of a killjoys welcome every day of the week.He much preferred being the killjoy doing the welcoming, to be honest.





	The Only Hope For Me Is You

**Author's Note:**

> Another old one. I think I'm running out now, so that should be good XD 
> 
> Inspired by My Chemical Romance's amazing world/album 'Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys'. It is always fun to write in their world. I highly recommend it.

Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, hotter than the midday sun, burning him from the inside out as he pushed his foot to the floor. His knuckles were white, nails leaving marks in the well worn, torn leather of the steering wheel. With every beat of his heart his already frantic breathing increased, until he was almost gasping for breath as he fought against time. 

He never should have left them. He knew better. He knew they weren't safe in zone three, knew they needed to be deeper, to brave the sands and the acid rain storms until they were on the border of six. But Niall had wanted to rest, and Harry was tired of his long legs being trapped in the car, and god help them but Harry always gets what he wants. 

They'd found a small abandoned diner, had even managed to spark one of their stoves into heating up some of their canned food. It wasn't much, and it certainly didn't make anything taste better, but it was more than they'd had in weeks, and none of them were going to complain. But then Liam had realized the bikes were short on fuel – how that had escaped notice was anyone's guess – and they couldn't make it to six on mostly empty tanks. 

So he had gone. He'd left them there, knowing in his heart they wouldn't be safe. It was a decision he would regret for the rest of his life, however long it might be. And if any of his boys were hurt, if _Harry_ was hurt, or worse... he wouldn't see another day. He'd ride to Battery City and drive his car straight through BL/ind's front door. He'd take out as many of those assholes as he could, and he'd welcome the end. 

To get that call... God, even thinking about it sent him into a panic. He'd never heard Harry sound like that, had never heard such fear in his voice. Not even when they'd lost Liam for a few days, when they were all set to storm the city in search for him, certain he'd been taken. Not even when Zayn got so sick one week they had no choice but to stay in one place, sitting ducks for any Dracs that wandered by. Not even when they'd escaped the city and BL/ind the first time, a group of terrified kids that didn't know what they were doing, only that they wanted freedom and a life worth living. 

Louis was going to kill every last person that made Harry sound like that. Slowly. Painfully. 

He rode the car hard, pushing it past its limits, forcing more speed even as the car flew over the uneven ground. He couldn't stop, wouldn't, not even with the sun blinding him and the sharp dirt that hit him in the face from the broken window. 

He heard them before he saw them. The yells, the sharp sizzle of the ray guns. He roared over the last hill, eyes already searching even as the car came down a little too hard, the tires momentarily skidding as his foot slammed onto the brake. In the back the gas cans rocked, falling over themselves, but he didn't give one shit about the precious fuel. 

He was too busy trying to spot that elusive flash of green, that curly hair, those long legs. But all he saw was white and gray surrounding the diner, all he saw were the Dracs and their agents, and because of his spectacular entrance, they had seen him too. 

But if they were still surrounding the diner, if they were still shouting, still shooting, his brothers were still alive. And that knowledge settled the panic inside of him, molding it into something else entirely. Revving the engine, Louis shifted his grip on the steering wheel and pulled the ray gun from his side holster, clicking off the safety with his thumb. 

He hit the gas before the first Drac could get off a shot, his arm already out the window. His fingertips were long burnt from blow back, a little more numb than they'd been back in the day when he'd been a BL/ind agent himself. But his aim was still as true as ever, and the first Drac hit the sand just as Louis spun the wheel, knocking three others down with the back of the car. 

It was pandemonium in seconds. Sizzling beams flew around the car as Louis threw it into reverse, still shooting with his left while his right kept a tight grip on the wheel. He was playing with fire, a good shot would not only damage the car potentially beyond repair, but the fuel tanks in the back could go off if they were hit wrong, leaving nothing but a flaming wreck. 

But there were too many clustered around the diner, too many for four to take out on their own. 

Too many for five. 

Not that it was going to stop Louis any time soon. They'd faced worse odds. Hell, before Louis had shaken off the pills and opened his eyes, _he'd_ been on the receiving end of a killjoys welcome every day of the week. 

He much preferred being the killjoy doing the welcoming, to be honest. 

Spinning the car again, and ducking when a well placed shot cracked what remained of the windshield, Louis switched gears and flew past the diner windows. They were nearly all shot out, but he saw a blur of colors clustered inside, and he took a steadying breath before he tossed the ray gun onto the seat next to him and grabbed the radio instead. 

They hadn't answered since that first time, but maybe? 

“Anyone alive?” 

There was static, a burst of it that made his teeth grind together, but after a moment there was a click and a very welcome voice on the other end, breathless and delighted. And a symphony of crackling sizzles both around the car and through the radio. /Nice driving, Tommo./ 

“Always aim to please. Roll call?” 

/All present and accounted for, now that you're back. We've got the front covered, and the back is barricaded with explosives. They come in that way, they're in for a surprise./ 

Turning wide, Louis circled, trying to do a dirty count of the Dracs with his eyes. “Anything big enough to take out a significant number would take you out too. I'd rather we not have to resort to that, if it's all the same to you, Liam. How are the bikes?” 

/Fine. They haven't been hit. But there's too many to make a break for it./

“I wasn't thinking about running away. Think there's enough fuel in one for someone to come join me?” 

There was a pause, and Louis tossed the radio on the dash so he could grab the ray gun and do another sweep, missing more than he hit. But it was causing a commotion, and keeping them focused on him, and that was good enough. 

/Maybe for a bit. Think you can keep them distracted for a minute?/ Liam sounded a little further away, as the radio rolled around the dash, but he sounded pleased and Louis grinned in return, so hard his cheeks hurt. There was a reason their group had survived as long as they had. 

“Absolutely.” 

They were all fucking crazy. 

Jerking the wheel, Louis spun the car towards the group of Dracs, slamming on the breaks so hard he slammed into the seat. The suddenly stationary car confused them, foolish idiots that they were. Louis could see the agents shouting, waving at him, but the Dracs were little more than pill addicted fodder. 

When he hit the gas, driving right into the middle of them, there was little they could do but dive out of the way, scattering like cockroaches. A few fell under the tires, some went over the windshield, and those agents that were in the thick of it stood their ground to shoot, one of them scoring a hit through the broken window. 

The car went wild as Louis lurched, the burn in his shoulder obscuring everything else for a moment as he fought for control. He very nearly flipped, only managing to straighten out at the last second, when out of the corner of his eye he saw one of their two bikes come flying out of a broken diner window, hitting the ground hard before zooming off to provide a much needed distraction. 

It was a beautiful landing, but Louis' heart flew to his throat, choking him more than the pain in his shoulder. He threw himself onto the dashboard, screamed into the radio. “I DIDN'T MEAN HARRY.” 

Harry, his stupid green jacket a beacon in the sunlight, was bent low over the bike, his long legs obscene in tight pants and biker boots, his curls free in the wind. Liam was tucked at his back, one arm around his waist for balance, the other holding the ray gun steady as he took shots as the bike weaved and raced over the sand. 

He was as black as the Dracs were white, the chevrons on the back of his jacket the only color on him. One swatch of color for each of them; red for Zayn, orange for Niall, green for Harry, and blue for Louis. Whereas each of them had pushed to put their life in Battery City far behind them, choosing the colors always denied them, Liam had decided to remember how hopeless and dark it had been, and then honored the bright lights that had brought him out of it. 

Louis had called him a sap for it. But he'd always been pleased and touched. Even if he wanted to currently shove that jacket down Liam's throat. 

/He's the best defense rider, Lou./ Niall sounded hesitant, but he was trying to defend Liam. Bless him. It wouldn't work. / _You_ taught him./

Yes, Louis had taught him. But it wasn't supposed to be used in actual real life. It was for emergencies only. Just the sight of Harry out there, unprotected, was enough to cripple him. “Finish this.” 

Throwing the radio down, Louis grabbed the ray gun and slammed his foot back to the floor, driving back into the fray. It was chaos with two vehicles, shots firing wildly, so much shouting Louis' ears were ringing. But Harry was out from the relative safety of the diner, and that made everything more real. More dangerous. More personal. 

He had to admit, no matter how much he wanted to argue, that Niall was right. Harry was a wonder on the bike, taking turns that Louis wouldn't dare take without four wheels on the ground, so low that at one point he was sure their knees were only a few inches from the ground. He pivoted the bike like it was nothing, giving Liam shots that he took without hesitation. They were good together, and the part of Louis that wasn't panicked was damn fucking proud. 

They were making quick work of the Dracs, supported by Zayn and Niall in the diner, an impossible situation somehow righted with a bike and a car, when Louis saw the bike take a direct hit to the reinforced back tire. One hit too many. 

The bike fishtailed, spun, and went rolling. 

Liam went one way, Harry went the other, and Louis had half a second of an impossible, impossible choice before a red blur jumped out on the second bike. It was a much shakier landing, but the bike made a beeline right for Liam and Louis had already turned the car towards Harry. 

Screeching to a stop, he leaned over, ignoring the agony in his shoulder, and popped the door. “Get in!”

Harry dove for the open door, a split second faster than the shots that hit the dirt at his feet. He had barely hit the leather before Louis was spinning the car again, the door slamming shut, and Harry's bloodied fingertips scrambled at the dash to keep stable. 

“Lou-” 

“We'll talk about you being a damned bloody idiot later.” 

Harry grinned at him, wide and toothy, leaning over to give his cheek a quick kiss before he was angling himself out of the window, one hand on the roof and the other wrapped around the hilt of his ray gun, taking quick pot shots as Louis spun the car over the rough terrain, trying to keep the attention away from Liam on the ground, and Zayn trying desperately to reach him on the bike.

Shots were kicking up the dust near Liam, but Louis couldn't tell if any were hitting. Until one lucky shot didn't send up dust, but sent Liam rolling. He slammed the gas pedal to the floor so hard he was half afraid his foot would go right through, Harry's shouting lost to the wind and the roar of the car, but Zayn was already there, nearly riding the bike to the ground as he leapt off, and Louis had to correct the car or risk slamming into one of the agent's own cars, parked neatly in a row. 

Harry shot all the tires he could see as they passed, and Louis grinned so wide his cheeks hurt. 

They rode interference, Harry slipping back into the car for safety as Louis ran the car into everyone moving that wasn't covered in color. He scored a lucky hit on an agent, sending him sprawling, momentarily disorienting the Dracs, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Zayn on the bike, Liam in front of him, taking back off towards the diner as fast as he could go. 

“They're comin' back to you, Niall!” Harry grabbed the radio as it spun over the dash. His other hand was on the ceiling, keeping him stationary as Louis soared over bumps and dips. The gas cans nearly hit the roof, and he spared them a quick glance.

/See them!/ Niall yelled, his voice muffled by the crackle and pop. /We gotta end this, Tommo, we're gonna attract attention!/

“That would be bad.” Harry was still grinning, half crooked, half crazed. His curls were tousled by the wind, his eyes bright. There was dirt smudged on his face. 

He was exquisite, and Louis was going to fuck him over the hood of this car, just as soon as this was handled. Tight jeans down by his ankles, hand fisted in all those curls. He was going to fuck him so hard he forgot his own damn name. 

“Him.” Harry pointed, still holding the radio, and that grin was predatory now. All shark teeth. 

Louis looked, and immediately spun the car. “Hold on.” He hit the gas so hard the car lurched, and then started to race across the sand. Up ahead of them, partially out of the main group, was an agent paying them no attention. He almost seemed bored, his ray gun still holstered at his side. 

He was the one in charge. The head of this particular group of snakes. 

Louis wasn't even within striking range when the man moved, almost too fast to catch, and Harry shouted a warning a second too late. The remaining glass on the windshield shattered from the shot, showering them with heated glass, and Louis felt the car fishtail, losing traction as his fingers slipped away.

And wrenched again, when Harry threw himself across Louis to grab the wheel. His hair was in his face, his body pressed to his. He could feel the heat of him, from his thighs to his side, could taste the sweat and tang of dirt in his hair, but his voice was far away. 

There was a pop, a hiss, then weightlessness. 

“ _Louis!_ ” 

Startled, Louis jerked up in his seat, half pinned in place. He was on fire, his pulse hammering in his ears. Everything was coming to him in bright flashes; the car was on it's side, Harry's hands were on his shoulders, face inches from his. He swam in front of Louis, in and out, in and out. His eyes were so _unbearably_ green. 

“Stay with me.” It was a soft croon, Harry's hands moving up to his neck, pressing down, and Louis arched like he'd been electrocuted, his throat raw from a scream he couldn't hear himself make. “Stay with me, baby.” 

/Harry!/ The radio was somewhere under the seats, where it had rolled. Zayn sounded frantic. /Louis!/

A _sizzlecrack_ came before the impact registered, sparks raining down on them from the crossbeam of the car, and Harry cursed, rolling off of him as several more shots hit the doors, the dash, little fireworks in Louis' eyes that made his eyes burn as much as the rest of him. 

Harry grabbed his ray gun, and Louis', and kicked the side door until it popped open with a crash. Half pulling himself up, he hung there, caught between two inevitabilities, until he smiled, blew Louis a kiss and pushed himself over the other side. 

“No.” Louis tried to push himself up, and felt the entire world spin. He grabbed the wheel, palmed his other hand against the window, and tried to shove himself to his feet. “ _No_.” 

He was halfway there on blind desperation, driven there by the loud shots outside the car, the distant screech of tires, when he reached for a handhold and missed. He lost his grip, lost his footing. 

_Stay with me._

He hit the edge of the seat, the headrest slamming into his shoulder. 

The sizzle of ray gun fire followed him into the dark. 

_Stay with me._

*

Louis was aware of two things immediately. 

One, he ached all over like he did the first time Niall had mistaken him for a Drac in the dark and hit him with the car. And two, most importantly, there was a long-limbed, long haired, extremely dangerous, baby giraffe wrapped around him with his head on his chest. 

Louis wasn't sure how he'd done it. He really didn't care. He just wrapped his fingers around one bony hip, thumb digging into the dip, and dropped his head to breathe him in. He smelled like dust and smoke and oil and blood and Louis' heart seized. 

“Harry.” His throat was rough, burned and ragged. “Harold.” 

“Don't think you're going to wake him.” Niall was leaning in the doorway, and Louis for the first time noticed they were in a house, dilapidated and destroyed as it might be. He was lying on a pile of ripped rags. “He's been up this entire time. Just finally fell asleep.” 

“What happened?” 

“What do you think?” Niall grinned, proud, pushing off the door with his hip and taking a few steps in. He looked a lot better than Louis felt, a few scratches on his face and a bruise over his eyebrow. “How are you feeling?” 

“Like shit.” Louis said, honestly, and Niall let out a laugh that would have normally woken Harry – and probably everyone else in a ten mile radius. Harry only sniffed and turned, nuzzling himself back into Louis' chest. “Is he okay?” 

“A bit singed.” Niall bent down to start fiddling with the bandages wrapped around Louis, and Louis had to grit his teeth against the stretch and burn. “Took a shot on his side, another on his arm, both were grazes. He's healing. He pulled off a miracle.” 

“That's Harry for you.” Louis' throat burned, and this time it wasn't because of any injury. “How's Liam? Zayn?” 

“Good.” Niall touched his neck and Louis felt the pain of it down to his bones. His vision actually whited out, and when he came back he couldn't even gulp in air fast enough. Harry still hadn't budged. “Sorry, sorry. Li got hit, but Zayn got him in time. He's resting. No ghosts on this run, Tomlinson.” 

_Stay with me._

Blowing out a breath that burned, Louis nodded mutely and Niall gave him a smile before he turned and disappeared out the door again, his ray gun holstered but ready to go at his hip. They weren't safe yet. They were never really safe. But that was something to deal with at another time. 

“Harry.” He repeated, softer, burying his nose in his hair. He let his eyes close, fingers gripping his hips a little tighter. “You're a bloody idiot.” 

Against his skin, he felt the smile.


End file.
